


In a dying universe

by VandaQ



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Action, Alternate Universe, Drama, Futuristic Earth, Multi, Romance, Sci-Fi, Violence
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-07-09
Updated: 2016-07-10
Packaged: 2018-07-22 13:13:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,606
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7440547
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VandaQ/pseuds/VandaQ
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>In the chaos that the universe was at the beginning the Earth was born and made it possible for life to flourish and develop and evolve. It is now the year 2195 and humanity has finally decided to give something back to the universe: a humble gesture of appreciation and self-sacrifice for the greater good. Or so it has been believed when everything started. In the year 2195, Jean Kirschtein wakes up suddenly in a sleeping world, where everything is frozen in lack of movement. And the question that follows him even through the darkness of his sleep... Is he the only one awake?...</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> Hello. I haven't written something in a while and the last JeanMarco project I had has been abandoned such a long time ago. However, I am obsessed with this idea. Hope you like it. :)
> 
> Disclaimer: I have researched most of the theories exposed in here; the work will pretty much explain everything, but if you have questions or if you notice a fault in the understanding and interpretation of any of these theories, please do ask/correct me. 
> 
> Note: There will be a lot of original things that, I'm afraid, won't be thoroughly explained because I don't have incredibly vast knowledge about physics, but I will do my best to give you an accurate picture of the things I introduce. 
> 
> Music: Hans Zimmer - Interstellar [sountrack]

** The Pause **

 

We are atoms. Atoms floating through other atoms, only a mesmerizing game or chemical reactions, of physical conditions, of forces that drive us forward. Nothing is stable, nothing is static around us; everything is energy and movement. The universe itself, a blanket formed of space and time variables, engulfing everything, with objects hanging around and pushing onto the soft equilibrium of the endless matter. We are not chosen, we are not special, we are not alone. Years and centuries of discoveries just brought us closer to a general understanding about the infirmity of our species, of our own planet, solar system, galaxy… We are just a spec of energy lost within the matter that embraces everything and holds together the infinite existence of the own universe.

 

 

X

 

 

The year 2195 showed the human race at, probably, the most static state in their whole existence, frozen in time, in a philosophical way of speaking – because the literal meaning of being frozen in time was discovered to not exist. Not in a universe that receives and gives energy with every gentle tug at its atoms, with particles simply existing, drawing energy and generating it. In the year 2195 the Earth was just a massive container for the life it made possible to flourish. Beyond the welcoming, habitable atmosphere of the blue planet, there was something so much bigger and it was not the universe – it was the death of universe. For 30 years, the whole living population of the Earth has been put into a state of artificial slumber, the Earth left at the power of clever, self-sufficient computers. The computers and machinery held the people alive, fed them and made sure to keep the fine balance between not moving and progressing. Over time, once a few years, there were people waking up, disoriented, crying for their families, alone and in a cold, sterile environment, nothing that reminded them of the glorious, advanced civilization the human race was once before. They were not stopped to wander again abandoned streets, to see the buildings that once hosted so many stories and gave shelter to so many of them. The computers knew better; the price of losing a human being, compared with going against their programmed mission was too much.

The computers knew that beyond the walls of the incubators the other 4 billion people were hold, there was a new world, a new Earth; dominated only by animals and nature now, in a state of perpetual, but dim movement. They knew the death of the universe was a price that could have not been paid for a human’s life or well-being. Over time, the energy emanated by every human being and other living creatures from distant planets have dispersed energy all around the universe. As a natural state, energy cannot be isolated, it circulates, changes, moves; that is entropy. The mark every atom in the universe is the energy dispersed. That is why existing, living, is possible – if entropy didn’t exist, if energy would not be emanated and then left to travel across the eternal blanket of space and time, the universe would die, would be caught in a state of even lack of motion. Formulated firstly in 1851 that the universe will get to a point where the laws of thermodynamics don’t apply anymore has been named The heat death of the universe.

In the end, so much energy would have been dispersed into space and time, that the universe will get to a point where there would be a thermodynamic equilibrium, lacking the unexpected, chaotic movement it needs for entropy to happen. At that point, in the universe will be instilled a sense of lack of motion, where the energy will be so evenly distributed across space and time that the atoms will cease to move. All across the universe, there will be the same temperature, a temperature that would make work (the process of transforming the energy into movement) impossible to occur anymore. Before that point will be even reached, human life would be vanished, erased from the history of space and time. The only way The heat death of the universe could be prevented would be for atoms to stop – which is, again, The heat death of the universe. In other words, the phenomenon would be impossible to be stopped. However, it could be delayed.

In 2159 the human race faced a victorious outcome of long, laborious fights and regained faith in its own mission and destiny: humans finally got in touch with another form of life. The signal was received as some sort of electro-magnetic field, poorly intercepted by the technology available at the moment. One month of inter-galactic communication and the only outcome of it was a warning: “Stop energy death” and what we perceived as 103. 103 is 1000 years. The unknown civilization we got in touch with simply told us to stop moving, to follow them in their mission to delay the death of the universe as much as possible. When scientists firstly thought about this, it seemed like the most logical idea. To that point, even if The heat death of the universe had been considered, it was calculated to happen in 10100 years. Six years were spent planning the next and probably the biggest gesture of consideration the human race has ever done for the universe and what would make possible the conservation of our species for at least 1050 years. Human life was paused.


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 30 years ago the human race was put in an artificial state of sleep in order to conserve the rich civilization they left behind. In the middle of his sleep, Jean Kirschtein wakes up to discover a world that he thought he knew. And is he the only one witnessing the Earth in its current state?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter two is here. :) I can't wait to write more on this story. It will progress slowly, but I hope it will be worth the waiting, in the end. Please feel free to give your feedback on the story until here and I hope you enjoy it.

** The Awakening **

 

The state when we drift to sleep is known as _hypnagogia_ ; not quite asleep, but neither aware anymore of our surroundings. We simply are suspended in a space where we are unsure of where we are, but still knowing who we are; we don’t know if we are going to sleep or just waking up. Everything fades away, giving a free way to our minds to project thoughts as paint on white canvas, where the sensations are stimulated only by our brain. And lost within one of the many bases where people were held in their quiet sleep, a nameless man suddenly didn’t feel trapped by the cradling hands of the sleep anymore; suddenly aware he is someone. The capsule was made almost entirely of aluminum, a perfect conductor and retainer of warmth, while the lid was made out layers of polycarbonate toughened by pieces of glass – something known as ‘bullet-proof glass’. Inside, a liquid similar to water, but having a bigger density kept his body in a floating state, while tubes were connected to his body, providing him air, nutrients and motoring his state. The computers knew way before he woke up that he would escape his slumber. And when he opened his eyes, the lid opened and the main tubes unlatched from his body, while he grasped for air. Dizzy, yet in a fragile state between sleep and full awareness, the brown haired blinked a few times, moving his limbs. Every muscle of his body seemed to have been stiffer than iron and his own body felt like lead.

Eyes prompted towards the ceiling, were ultra-violet lights shone quietly, mimicking the solar light, just like in a greenhouse. By 2040 vertical greenhouses were built everywhere; the creators of the capsules borrowed the concept. Aside from them, the enormous base was dark. Still disoriented, the man started to remove the cables attached to him and the computers deactivated their monitoring over capsule 35921330 – his capsule. He was _free_.

But what does a man do with his freedom in a world that would rather be trapped? The first thoughts were about his family, friends, the outside world. Then memories came along and he remembered why he was there. Then the question of why he was awake. A state of panic and anxiety installed into his yet not fully conscious brain and he started to yell; weekly in the beginning, with a meek voice, then at the top of his lung, calling whoever might have been there. He screamed and yelled and implored, the liquid around him making him lose his balance, with a ragged breath and a pounding heart.

“Is anyone here?” he asked, again and again, until all he could hear was his voice replying with the same question. When he stopped, the same silence was installed in the room and no movement around him betrayed any kind of presence. Just the meek sound of the machines operating and his own pulse, reverberating like a pair of drums against his skull. He picked himself up, naked, stranded in the middle of the dark room, with his pupils dilated and an expression of complete, utter freight spreading across his features. He escaped from his capsule, starting to feel the cold temperature against his skin, wandering without a target or reason through all the capsules aligned around him. At the top, the same dim lights and more platforms, holding more capsules. He walked like this for a few minutes, arms dangling by his sides and eyes trying to peer through the darkness. Before he knew, he met a cold wall; with his hands following its direction, he walked across it and he finally was met by a pair of massive doors. He stood there, wondering what was behind them and before he could answer, the doors simply moved, opened enough for him to continue his walk. A long corridor stood ahead of him and he stopped, cupping his face in his palms, his body moved by convulsions. He started to cry, his whole desperation and lack of orientation only making it worse. Why was he awake?...

With steps that were unsure and wobbly, he crossed the hall, eyes still adjusting to the dim light and as he reached the end, he pressed his palms against the door that separated him from the rest of the world, feeling like he was a child again. A small child against a world he was yet to re-discover. And he pushed. The doors did not open and a new state of panic seized his heart. What if he was trapped in there? Trapped between the capsules that held all the other people prisoners to sleep.

He wanted to scream again, but before he could, a short sound made him tilt his head up and he was suddenly engulfed by a blinding light. He covered his eyes with his arm and dared an unsure step toward it. And another one and another one, until he heard the door closing behind him. And when he looked behind, he saw the giant, sterile looking building and the doors once again sealed. He was out; forever. He turned around, his eyes starting to adjust to the new brightness conditions and his body moving more freely. He inhaled deeply and the first things he smelled in the air was grass and rain. He looked down and he finally felt the velvety touch of the green grass upon his feet, through his toes. The faintest of smiles tugged at the corners of his lips and he suddenly felt a breeze against his bare skin. All around, luscious greenery embraced the ruins of what he knew once as Washington DC.

The suspended streets that were once powered by electricity and roaming with cars were now empty, the buildings around him hollow but for the all present trees and bushes. He turned a few times around, taking in the whole majestic picture and his smile widened with every turn, with every new colour his eyes recognized. The picture before him was overwhelming; small puddles shone around him in the light of the sun, while he started to walk again, feeling warmth encasing him again in its ginger embrace. He was yet to see so many things, so many places he thought he knew. But then a thought clouded his mind, hang like dark clouds above his newly found sense of confidence; what if he was the only one awake? What if he was the only man on Earth to have escaped his slumber? What then?

As his steps drove him towards unknown roads and path, he started to yell, in a fiery voice, hoping someone… Anyone that was awake would hear him, hoping that he was not the only one to run the streets. His steps became soon a jog and then a run, his body fighting the breeze and ignoring his own nakedness, running towards a point he was not sure existed. Just… Running. And when he stopped, he breathed heavily and all around him tall trees protected him from the sun with their generous shadow. He could still see the remnants of what once was one of the biggest cities in the world; and yet… It felt like he was on a completely alternate planet. He collapsed at the base of a tree and he stared for a few minutes at the beautiful dance that the light seeping through the green leaves of the trees created. He was alone… Wasn’t he?

An idea suddenly clung onto his mind; was this real or was this just a dream? Maybe everything was a part of him sleeping. And then he heard himself saying:

“My name is Jean Kirschtein, I am in Washington DC as per my last memory, the time is… Sometime around noon. My parents are…” And his voice abruptly stopped. He spoke the previous words with definite confidence and then he stopped and his eyes widened. “Dead. I am a former psychologist. My last patient’s name was…” And at that point, he felt his memory betrayed him. He stopped, but now the unsettling feeling he tried to scare away with his words suddenly sunk deep into his emotions: he was awake. That was not part of a dream and he was certainly aware enough to understand he was now alone and awake in a sleeping world. He wanted to cry again, but he felt too weak for it; he wanted to ask at least why he was awake, but instead, he took a breath and stood up. And then he continued to walk, with the same unsure steps.

 

 

X

 

 

 _“Today the last reports from the world’s best translators came in and they have finally uncovered the secret, mysterious message we received from the unknown extra-galactic visitors. The Government has declared a general state of alert and advised people of the new discoveries made on the theory called The heat death of the world. There has been already discussed a plan, but finally the presidents from all the states of The United Forces for Spatial Affairs have met today in London, to further give their thoughts on the new discoveries. The humanity stands at a very important point in its existence and it is rumored that the advice from our extra-galactic neighbors will be pondered and a plan of action will be finally made public on Monday. There is a high chance, according to most of the specialists, that the plan named ‘The Pause’ will seriously be considered and possibly there will be actions taken towards implementing it. The plan ‘The Pause’ consists of – “_ The voice of the woman finally stopped, as Jean turned off the TV, put aside his mug and grabbed his keys and his briefcase. As far as he was concerned, his biggest problem was his new patient and the death of the universe wasn’t something he was too excited about. Media flourished all the details and he was sure that in a few months, new translators will completely eradicate current ideas, only to be replaced by other ones, as crazy as this one was.


End file.
